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Argos
Argos are found in the same regions of wildspace as the baleful beholder nations. An argos resembles a giant amoeba. It has one large, central eye with a tripartite pupil, and a hundred lashless, inhuman eyes and many sharp-toothed mouths. An argos can extrude several pseudopods, each tipped with a fanged maw that functions as a hand to manipulate various tools. Argos move by slithering; they can cling to walls and ceilings. They can levitate and fly at the very slow rate of 3. Argos colors tend toward shades of transparent blues and violets; they smell like a bouquet of flowers. They are huge beasts ranging in size from 10 to 20 feet in diameter, weighing about 200 pounds per Hit Die. Though they exhibit signs of being intelligent tool users, they do not wear clothes, choosing rather to carry gear stored in temporary cavities within their bodies. However, their digestive juices often ruin devices within two to three weeks (saving throw vs. acid). Combat: An argos can attack with one to three weapons or items, or it can enfold a victim in a pseudopod and attack with 1d3 mouths for 1d4 points of damage each. It may attack as many foes in this way as it can physically reach. If an argos rolls a natural 20 on an attack, it envelopes its victim, swallowing him whole. A swallowed victim suffers 2d8 points of damage each round from the creature's digestive juices. The victim may attempt to cut his way free from within, using only short cutting weapons. He must inflict 8 points of damage to break free. The eyes of an argos, like those of a beholder, have a variety of special powers. An argos can bring 1d10 of its smaller eyes to bear on any target. The large, central eye can focus only on targets that are in front of the creature (within 90 degrees of the "straight-ahead point" of the central eye). Though the creature has nearly 100 eyes, only 20 special powers have been noted; therefore a number of eyes must possess the same power. Each point of damage inflicted on an argos eliminates one eye; the DM decides which powers are reduced in the process. It is possible to target one particular eye by attacking with a -4 penalty to the attack roll. Each ability of an argos’s eye is treated as a spell effect. Use the argos’s Hit Dice as the caster level. Habitat/Society Argos are solitary creatures, though it is not unheard of to discover an argos guardian aboard an eye tyrant ship. Argos appear capable of replenishing their own air envelope and thus may be encountered wandering asteroid rings and dust clouds alone. Despite its relative intelligence, the argos is a ravenous creature driven by its hunger. It tries to lure prey into its grasp, feeding until it has consumed a number of creatures equal to two times its own Hit Dice. It then slips away to digest its meal for a period equal to two hours per Die. If an argos is unable to find food within a week of its last meal, it loses 1 Hit Die per week until it becomes a 5-Hit Die creature. After that point, it can hibernate for up to a year by crystallizing its outer shell and forming a chrysalis. Ecology Argos consume anything that moves and is digestible. Their preference is to use their abilities to lure their prey into traps and then to pick off individuals one at a time. It sorts through the tools and weapons of its victims and keeps the useful items. An intelligent, amorphous creature, the argos constantly seeks to quell its ever present hunger. An argos resembles a giant amoeba covered with a hundred small, lidless, inhuman eyes, many sharp toothed mouths, and a single large, central eye with a tripartite pupil. Its flesh is translucent and tends toward blue and purple. An argos can fly but is clumsy in the air and prefers to stay on the ground. While Argos can and do use tools, storing them in temporary 'stomach' pouches, the digestive acids tends to eventually break these down. An argos continually gives off a sweet smelling odor reminiscent of flowers. Argos speak a variant of Beholder and Common. Combat: Argos tend to be unsubtle in combat. While intelligent, their ravenous hunger means they will try to kill a potential food source as soon as possible so they can consume it. An argos attacks with its pseudopods, each pseudopod armed with up to three fanged mouths each of which it may use to either bite or attack with a weapon. It can attack with up to six pseudopods per round, but only one pseudopod per victim. Pseudopod (Ex): On a second successful grapple check, an argos has automatically grappled with two other mouths on a pseudopod. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the argos must hit with at least one bite attack. Spell-like Abilities (Su): Each of the Argos' hundred smaller eyes holds a single spell. An Argos can use up to ten of these per round but may not move or attack while doing so. It may use each power ten times per day with a level equal to its total HD - Blindness/Deafness, Burning Hands, Charm Monster, Chill Metal, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Confusion, Darkness, Detect Thought, Dispel Magic, Emotion, Fear, Flesh to Stone, Fumble, Heat Metal, Hold Monster, Light, Minor Image, Shield, Slow, Suggestion, Tongues. Additionally, its central eye can use the following abilities, one per round with a caster level equal to its total HD, at will – Alter Self, Color Spray, Ray of Enfeeblement. Swallow Whole (Ex): The Argos may attempt to swallow whole any medium-sized or smaller target that has been successfully grabbed by three or more mouths. The swallowed creature suffers 8 points of acid damager per round from the Argos' stomach pouch. A swallowed creature can cut its way out of a stomach pouch by using Small or Tiny slashing weapons to deal 8 points of damage to the stomach lining (AC 20). An Argos is immune to its own acid and the stomach lining immediately seals up afterwards. An Argos can hold one Medium sized, two Small, four Tiny, eight Diminutive, or 16 Fine or smaller creatures, each in its own separate stomach pouch. Amorphous (Ex): An argos is not subject to critical hits. It has no clear front or back, so it cannot be flanked. Consume (Ex): Due to its rapid metabolism, an Argos can quickly incorporate an eaten creatures body mass into itself. An Argos gains a permanent HD whenever it feeds on a cumulative amount of HD/Levels equal to two times its current HD. Afterwards it is fatigued for 2 hours per current HD of the argos while it digests. An Argos must eat at least its own HD worth of creatures per month or it will loose a HD permanently due to starvation. If this would bring it below 5 HD, it will automatically form a chrysalis. Chrysalis (Ex): A starving argos or one that suspects it will be can form a chrysalis out of its outer skin. Its STR and DEX falls effectively to zero but its natural armor bonus increases to +15. In this state, the Argos will lose 1 hp of damage to starvation per week (As opposed to a permanent HD per month) but does not require food or water. It takes an argos ten rounds to form or dissolve its chrysalis. Create Air (Ex): An argos naturally produces breathable air as part of its metabolic processes. As such, it cannot be drowned or asphyxiated, and it gains a +4 to save against gas borne attacks. Category:Argos Category:Abberations